Introduction: A Chapter of Obscure Expressions and the Question of Trust
Chapter 17 of Yirmiyahu opens with a sharp description of the depth of Judah's sin, and transitions from there to one of the central passages in the Prophets regarding trust in Hashem versus trust in man. Already in the opening verses, one can sense that the expressions in this chapter are complex and differ from the straightforward language seen until now. Consequently, each expression carries several interpretations, and greater effort is required to understand what is written here.
With an Iron Pen and a Diamond Point - An Overt Sin and an Inward Sin
חַטַּאת יְהוּדָה כְּתוּבָה בְּעֵט בַּרְזֶל בְּצִפֹּרֶן שָׁמִיר חֲרוּשָׁה עַל־לוּחַ לִבָּם וּלְקַרְנוֹת מִזְבְּחוֹתֵיכֶם׃ - "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond; it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars."
Rashi explains that this is a metaphor illustrating just how deeply the sin is embedded and engraved within them, unable to be erased. Rashi cites a Midrash Aggadah: "with an iron pen" - an allusion to Yirmiyahu, who was called an iron pillar; "with the point of a diamond" - an allusion to Yechezkel, to whom it was said, "Like an adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead." In other words, Judah's sin is engraved, and if you wish to know where it is engraved - look at these two prophets, who were the great rebukers of the Jewish people, and through them one can see how deeply Judah's sin is engraved. "Engraved upon the tablet of their heart" - Rashi explains that they do not forget their idol worship, and it is constantly before their eyes.
The Malbim explains the duality in the verse. An iron pen writes upon the surface: people would write with an iron stylus, leaving an impression on the material, but only on its exterior. In contrast, a diamond point is the hardest substance of all, carving deep within. The prophet comes to say: their sin is both overt and inward. On the one hand, "with an iron pen" - surface writing; on the other hand, "with the point of a diamond" - an engraving that penetrates into the inwardness of the heart. Therefore, corresponding to "the point of a diamond," it says "engraved upon the tablet of their heart," for the diamond carves inward; and corresponding to the "iron pen," which represents the external, it says "and upon the horns of your altars," since the horns of the altars are visible to all, and upon them the sin of Judah can be seen.
The underlying idea is this: sometimes a person performs an action that remains external to him, and from an external matter it is easy to detach. But when a person acts from the inwardness of the heart, it is far more difficult to detach, because it stems from deeper internal motives and a personal attachment to that thing. This is what the prophet conveys here: your sin is not merely external, but an inward sin - "with the point of a diamond, engraved upon the tablet of their heart."
Yearning for Idolatry
כִּזְכֹּר בְּנֵיהֶם מִזְבְּחוֹתָם וַאֲשֵׁרֵיהֶם עַל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן עַל גְּבָעוֹת הַגְּבֹהוֹת׃ - "As they remember their children, so they remember their altars and their asherim by the leafy trees upon the high hills."
Just as they remember their children with all their heart, so do they remember their altars and their asherim (an asherah being a tree worshipped as an idol). Rashi explains: just as they would remember their children, so was their remembrance of their altars, like a person who yearns for his child. In other words, this was not something superficial, but an inward reality to which they were bound with every fiber of their soul; just like a parent longing for a child, so were they attached to idolatry.
The verse continues: "their altars" - beside leafy trees, "and their asherim" - upon high hills. It was their practice to build altars next to trees, as it is said, "You shall not plant for yourself an asherah of any tree beside the altar of Hashem your God," because this was the pagan custom - to build an altar beside trees; while the asherot, which were those trees, were planted on high hills. What was the rationale behind this? It is known that the dwelling place of spirits, demons, and other external forces is often in trees, where they reside. Therefore, because they sought to draw down those powers and have them influence their offerings, they would do so next to a tree or under a tree and the like, thereby drawing down spiritual forces of impurity into the physical realm - the tree and the altar.
Indeed, they possessed knowledge of how to establish contact with these external forces. After all, Lavan, with the help of the teraphim, was able to discern where Yaakov had fled, and it was not for naught that Rachel took the teraphim. The teraphim were made from a skull upon which a force of impurity was drawn down, enabling that impure power to speak. Similarly, we find that the Golden Calf uttered, "I am Hashem your God" and "You shall have no other gods" - through what power? Through the power of impurity that they had activated within it. Thus, they knew how to draw down those forces to rest upon the trees, which is why they constructed the altar beside the tree. There is also an additional meaning to an asherah: some worshipped the tree itself, and that worshipped tree was also called an asherah.
"My Mountain in the Field" - Who Is the Mountain?
הֲרָרִי בַּשָּׂדֶה חֵילְךָ כׇל־אוֹצְרוֹתֶיךָ לָבַז אֶתֵּן בָּמֹתֶיךָ בְּחַטָּאת בְּכׇל־גְּבוּלֶיךָ׃ - My mountain in the field: your wealth and all your treasures I will give as plunder, your high places, because of sin, throughout all your borders.
Radak explains that they used to worship idols upon the mountains, which is why the prophet addresses Israel as "My mountain in the field." It is, as it were, a call: You, the People of Israel, are My mountain within the field. A mountain signifies prominence, something elevated and exalted. "Your wealth and all your treasures I will give as plunder" - your wealth and treasures that are in the field, all of them I will surrender to pillage. "Your high places, because of sin, throughout all your borders" - Radak explains that this should be read inverted: "Because of the sin of your high places throughout all your borders," meaning because of the sin you committed through the high places, with idolatry, across all your borders. Radak cites several other examples where verses are read inverted, placing the later clause earlier. Why, then, will all your treasures become plunder? Because of the sin of the high places throughout all your borders.
The Malbim explains differently: "My mountain in the field" does not refer to Israel, but to the Beis HaMikdash. The Beis HaMikdash is Mount Zion and is called a mountain, and "My mountain in the field" refers to My mountain that stands in the field - the field of Zion. And why is it called a field? Because everything surrounding it has already been destroyed, as in "Zion shall be plowed as a field"; the entire surrounding area has been plowed over. He says to them: My mountain stands in a field, in a place that has already been conquered, ruined, and plowed. "Your wealth and all your treasures I will give as plunder," and your high places I will also surrender to plunder. And why? "Because of sin throughout all your borders" - because of the sin of the high places found across all the borders of your land.
A Double Relinquishment - From the Land and from Yourself
וְשָׁמַטְתָּה וּבְךָ מִנַּחֲלָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָךְ וְהַעֲבַדְתִּיךָ אֶת־אֹיְבֶיךָ בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדָעְתָּ כִּי־אֵשׁ קְדַחְתֶּם בְּאַפִּי עַד־עוֹלָם תּוּקָד׃ - And you will let go, and through yourself, of your inheritance that I gave you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land that you did not know, for you have kindled a fire in My anger that shall burn forever.
Here too the expressions are very complex. Rashi explains "and you will let go [veshamattah]" - against your will, the land will slip away from you. And why? As it is written in the Torah, "because it did not rest." When the Holy One, Blessed be He, commanded the Shemitah, He warned that if you do not allow the land to rest in the Sabbatical year, the land will exile you and claim its rest days for itself. The exile of Israel between the First and Second Beis HaMikdash lasted seventy years, corresponding precisely to the number of Shemitah cycles the Jewish people failed to observe, year for year. For every Shemitah that was not kept, the land slipped away from us. After all, when we let the land lie fallow, we do not work it, and when we are expelled from the land, we likewise do not work it. The Holy One, Blessed be He, gave us the opportunity to choose voluntarily to observe Shemitah, and if not, the land would do so on its own: "Then shall the land be paid its sabbaths, all the days of its desolation."
"And through yourself, of your inheritance" - Rashi explains: I will take vengeance upon you on account of your inheritance, because you did not observe the obligations I commanded you regarding your inheritance. Rashi also brings an additional interpretation: "and upon you" will I take vengeance, by exiling you from your inheritance. It emerges, therefore, that according to Rashi the entire grievance here concerns the matter of Shemitah.
The Malbim, on the other hand, explains that the relinquishment here is twofold: relinquishment of the land and relinquishment within yourself. "And you will let go of your inheritance" - for after Gedaliah ben Achikam was assassinated, the people fled to Egypt, thereby abandoning the land and relinquishing their inheritance. Shemitah means letting go of something, removing it from one's possession, as in "you shall release [tashmet] your hand" or "it slipped from his hand." Had they remained in Eretz Yisrael, the land would not have been ruined, since Nebuchadnezzar left behind vinedressers and plowmen, and the land would not have slipped away. And why did this happen? Because they believed their salvation lay in Egypt. The prophet rebuked them and instructed them not to descend to Egypt, for there would be no salvation for them there, yet ultimately they did not listen to the prophet and suffered the consequences there as well.
Furthermore, the verse says "and through yourself" - meaning that there would also be a relinquishment within your very self. How so? When a person is master of himself, there is no relinquishment: just as one is master over land and the land does not slip from his grasp, so too when a person is master of himself, he does not slip from his own control. But when someone comes and takes him as a slave, his ownership over himself is stripped away, and the relinquishment takes place within his very self. Thus, one had ownership over the land, which slipped away when they fled to Egypt, and one had ownership over oneself, which still remained, until that too was ultimately stripped away. This is the meaning of "And you will let go, and through yourself, of your inheritance": you will lose the land, and you will also lose your autonomy over yourself, passing from freedom into bondage. And this is "and I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land that you did not know" - in Egypt, for Nebuchadnezzar ultimately conquered Egypt as well. "For you have kindled a fire in My anger that shall burn forever" - as seen earlier in chapter 16, you angered the Master of the Universe, and this wrath burns perpetually.
Cursed Is the Man Who Trusts in Man
כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה אָרוּר הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בָּאָדָם וְשָׂם בָּשָׂר זְרֹעוֹ וּמִן־יְהֹוָה יָסוּר לִבּוֹ׃ - So said Hashem: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from Hashem.
How does this connect here? According to Rashi, this is a continuation of the previous verse. In his view, everything stated in the previous verse relates to the Shemitah of the land which they were unwilling to observe, and therefore the land was stripped from them. Regarding this he says: a person who is unwilling to observe Shemitah lacks bitachon (trust in Hashem), for someone who trusts in Hashem is willing to leave his land and vineyard fallow, knowing that sustenance comes from Hashem. But one who does not do so - he trusts in man, saying: If I do not plow and do not sow, I will have nothing to eat. And in Rashi's words: in his plowing and harvesting, saying, I will sow in the seventh year and eat.
"And makes flesh his arm" - Rashi explains that this does not literally mean an arm, but rather "his help" (ezro), by way of letter transposition, just as we find with keves and keshev, or kahel and lahak; so too here, zero'o means his help. Similarly, the Targum renders it ruchzaneih, meaning his reliance, the one he depends on and who will assist him. "And whose heart turns away from Hashem" - for the Holy One, Blessed is He, promised, "I will command My blessing upon you," yet you do not rely on Him, saying instead: If I do not work, I will have nothing to eat.
The Malbim explains, following his explanation of the previous verse, that the accusation here is that they relied on Egypt rather than on the prophet's promise and on Hashem's promise to help them. As we have seen several times, the prophet rebukes them for leaning on a crushed reed when relying on Egypt, as it is written: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on chariots... but do not look to Hashem."
And what is the apparent redundancy between "trusts in man" and "makes flesh his arm"? The Malbim explains: there is a person who trusts in man, yet still trusts in Hashem. How so? You tell him to trust in Hashem, and he replies: True, but one must make a lot of hishtadlut (effort), for how will salvation come - will Hashem lower it from heaven? That is, he trusts in Hashem to save him through a specific person. And we have noted several times that a person, in his great foolishness, not only makes hishtadlut but also gives advice to the Master of the World as to where the salvation should come from: Master of the World, I have already arranged a route, You do not need to exert Yourself; I already spoke with that minister and with this one, and finalized things from this angle; You just make sure his heart changes for the good, and the matter is settled. He both worries for the Holy One, Blessed is He, and lightens His workload!
Such a person, even though he trusts in man, nevertheless places the primary "arm" and strength of his trust in Hashem. He plans for salvation to come through a particular channel, but says: Master of the World, You tilt his heart - so he still trusts in Hashem. In contrast, there is a person whose entire trust is in man, to the point that even the "arm" is flesh to him. The Malbim explains in several places that the arm is the force that moves the hand, and the term "arm" always expresses the prime mover that sets other instruments into action, the initial force that generates continuous motion. Thus, "makes flesh his arm" means that the person is confident that the initial driving force is also his own: if I do not do it, no one will; if I did not act, nothing here will move. There is no Creator of the world whose plan incorporates this arm; rather, everything stems from human power, mere flesh and blood. Therefore, "and whose heart turns away from Hashem," and regarding him it is said, "Cursed."
It follows, then, that there are two types of people here, and "cursed" is not said of the first. One who relies on man but still knows that the arm, the driving force, is from Hashem - is not cursed. He has not attained the perfection of bitachon, but he is not cursed. But one who relies on man, and not only that, but believes that man is also the primary force and that the Creator of the world is not part of the picture - this is one who "makes flesh his arm," and upon him the title "cursed" is fitting.
In truth, it is very difficult to reach the higher level, for even the lower level that is not cursed - trusting in Hashem while expecting salvation to arrive through human agency - is already the common reality of most people. A person says: I am doing, I am acting, and with Hashem's help it will work. That is, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will merely help; I have already acted, spoken to that person, and made the effort, and with Hashem's help it will succeed. He expects Hashem merely to assist, not thinking for a moment that from start to finish, everything is from Him, blessed be He. But even your idea comes from Him, for "He gives you the power to achieve wealth," which the Targum translates as: counsel to acquire property. Even your idea is counsel that came to you from Hashem.
And so man behaves: when he succeeds and is asked how he succeeded, he answers that, Baruch Hashem, there was siyata di'shmaya (Heavenly assistance), Hashem helped - I acted, the credit belongs to me, and Hashem helped. But when he suffers a great failure and is asked what happened, he says: Know that everything is from Above, everything is from Him, blessed be He. He pins his failures entirely upon the Holy One, Blessed is He. But perhaps you also did something? Perhaps you made bad moves? Rather, he already wants to reap dividends from the failure: This too will surely be for the best, even though many were harmed and fell because of him. About his actions there are no questions, and regarding the downfall - it is all from Him, blessed be He. How far a person is willing to distort reality, just to maintain the assumption that he only does good things and never fails!
Like a Tamarisk in the Desert
וְהָיָה כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה וְלֹא יִרְאֶה כִּי־יָבוֹא טוֹב וְשָׁכַן חֲרֵרִים בַּמִּדְבָּר אֶרֶץ מְלֵחָה וְלֹא תֵשֵׁב׃ - He shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; he shall dwell in parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited.
Concerning the person whose heart turns away from Hashem, the prophet says he is like a solitary, barren tree in the desert, a tree that receives no bounty from the heavenly heights above, in the words of the Malbim. "And shall not see when good comes" - there in the arid plain, in the wilderness, it does not anticipate rain. And perhaps from its surroundings there will be helpers and supporters? Regarding this it is said, "he shall dwell in parched places" - he dwells among dry thorns in the wilderness. "Charerim" (parched places) is an expression of dryness, like "venichar" (is parched), "chara api" (flared anger), and "charvu hanaharot" (the rivers dried up). And perhaps from below there is an underground spring of water? Regarding this it is said, "in a salt land that is not inhabited" - the soil beneath is salty, a saline ground that cannot be inhabited at all. Thus, this person will find himself in a reality completely devoid of siyata di'shmaya. And "ar'ar" - either it relates to being barren and isolated (ariri), or some explain it is a type of non-bearing tree, a barren tree. At any rate, this person will have no salvation, because he "makes flesh his arm."
Blessed Is the Man Who Trusts in Hashem
בָּרוּךְ הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בַּיהֹוָה וְהָיָה יְהֹוָה מִבְטַחוֹ׃ - Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and whose trust is Hashem.
The Malbim explains: Not only does he trust in Hashem, but also "and whose trust is Hashem." When a person trusts that Hashem will save him through various natural means - as we explained, where he maps out the path for the Master of the World, taking all kinds of actions and expecting salvation to arrive through those specific means - even though he trusts in Hashem, his mivtach (the source and instrument of his trust, the means through which he will achieve what he seeks) is not Hashem. He hopes salvation will come through this particular route, through this person, that sustenance will come through the field, through the shop, through natural aids by which he plans his salvation. If so, although he trusts in Hashem, Hashem is not his mivtach; rather, his trust is placed in the field, in the natural medium upon which he relies. Such a person is not cursed, since in the final analysis he turns to the Master of the World, but neither is he blessed.
Who, then, is the blessed one? The Malbim explains: The blessed one is the exact opposite of the cursed one. The cursed one relies on himself from beginning to end, whereas the blessed one relies on the Master of the World from beginning to end. "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem" - for salvation comes from Him; "and whose trust is Hashem" - he does not even rely on natural means, but knows that Hashem Himself is his trust. He does not seek out intermediary means; rather, everything is solely through the Holy One, blessed be He, for Hashem is also the mivtach, the very means through which he will attain his desire. Such a person relies completely on Hashem, and therefore it is said of him, "Blessed." He is called a gever (man) in the sense that he conquers (goveir) his inclination and places his trust in Hashem.
For bitachon (trust in Hashem) is no simple matter, and whenever it comes to trust, a person must overcome his inclination. Why? Because man naturally sees the tangible, and trusting in Hashem means trusting in the unseen, in something I cannot see or feel. I feel that if I worked, there is a paycheck at the end of the week; if I did not work, there is no paycheck. To come and trust in Hashem, knowing that the salary is merely an agency sent by Hashem, blessed be He, is an ongoing struggle.
It is told that someone once proposed to the Brisker Rav to establish an endowment fund, raising a substantial sum so that its interest and dividends could sustain the kollel, where dozens of avreichim had to be paid every month - a task that was not simple at all. The Brisker Rav replied: If I had money to establish an endowment, I would use it immediately to support Torah, distributing it right now for Torah; but to amass money so that a place of Torah would be sustained from the interest - in that I have no interest. Furthermore, he said: I am not willing to sell my bitachon even for a million dollars. When asked what he meant, he told them: At the beginning of the month, and sometimes even at its end, I never know from where I will pay the avreichim. There are times when I must pay on Rosh Chodesh, and in the morning I do not have a single penny. Yet I am always one hundred percent confident in the Master of the World, and He has never let me down. Suddenly someone arrives at midday and hands me an envelope, and I have enough to pay all the avreichim - and he was never late in paying the kollel scholars. He told them: Every month I have a renewed test of trust, and I am not willing to sell this test, this connection, this trust in the Master of the World, even for a million dollars. For if you bring me a million dollars, what have I done? I would be saying to the Master of the World: "For now, I can manage on my own; You can attend to Your other tasks" - and in doing so, I would sever myself from the Master of the World.
And so it is written that the manna fell every single day so that every day they would look toward the Master of the World. By contrast, as the Midrash quotes in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a wayward son is given his sustenance by his father once a year: "Take this, leave me alone, and do not turn to me." Thus, bitachon creates a constant connection with the Master of the World and reliance upon Him. This is the meaning of "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and whose trust is Hashem" - blessed, because it is an immense, exalted virtue to let go of the physical crutches upon which one relies, leaning solely upon the Master of the World.
Like a Tree Planted by Water
וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל־מַיִם וְעַל־יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שׇׁרָשָׁיו וְלֹא יִרְאֶה כִּי־יָבֹא חֹם וְהָיָה עָלֵהוּ רַעֲנָן וּבִשְׁנַת בַּצֹּרֶת לֹא יִדְאָג וְלֹא יָמִישׁ מֵעֲשׂוֹת פֶּרִי׃ - He shall be like a tree planted by water, sending forth its roots by a stream, that does not fear when heat comes, but its leaf remains fresh; in a year of drought it does not worry, nor does it cease from bearing fruit.
One who trusts in Hashem is likened to a tree planted by water that sends its roots by a stream (yuval). The Malbim explains that yuval generally denotes flowing water, as in "canals, streams (yivlei) of water," or "like willows by streams (yivlei) of water." They are called yivlei because they are prepared to make plants grow and flourish, yielding their produce (yevul), so that yivlei is related to yevul. This is the meaning of "sending forth its roots by a stream" - it sends roots into a place that yields produce and fruit. "That does not fear when heat comes" - it does not fear the heat, lest it cause the branches and foliage of the tree to wither.
"Its leaf remains fresh; in a year of drought it does not worry" - the Malbim explains that this alludes to the fact that he fears neither temporary misfortunes nor enduring afflictions; he is untroubled by both forms of distress. A temporary hardship, such as a drought - a year without rain - "it does not worry, nor does it cease from bearing fruit." Even then it yields fruit, and he lacks neither wealth and possessions nor his good life, his wife, and his children, as "fruit" here generally refers to children. He does not worry when a difficult period arrives, because he is confident and secure in the Master of the World, and so even a difficult time causes him no anxiety.
The Malbim looks closely at the phrase "does not worry": After all, the verse is speaking of a tree, so how can a tree be described as "worrying"? Although personification is frequently found in the Prophets, where human expressions are applied to inanimate objects or flora, the Malbim notes that this specific phrasing was not chosen casually. For it is taught that a person is forbidden to engage in marital intimacy during years of famine; thus, in famine years, a person worries about bearing fruit - lest a child be born into terror, lest children die of hunger. But this person, out of his great goodness, will not worry even in a year of famine, and will not cease from bearing fruit, continuing to bring children into the world, because he knows he has nothing to worry about: he trusts in Hashem, and therefore their sustenance and salvation are assured.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the profundity of Judah's sin, which is not merely an external offense but is engraved into the depths of the heart like a diamond point, and openly visible on the horns of their altars; their longing for idolatry was like a father's yearning for his son. And on account of the sin of the high places (bamot) throughout all their borders, their wealth and treasures will be given over as plunder, bringing about a twofold relinquishment: a severance from the ancestral inheritance, and the severance of man from himself - falling from freedom into servitude in a land he did not know. From here, the prophet turns to the root of the matter: cursed is the man who trusts in human beings and makes flesh his arm, viewing it as the primary moving force; he is like a lonely tamarisk in the wasteland, possessing no Heavenly assistance at all. In contrast, blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, whose reliance is in Hashem alone without leaning on intermediate means, and he is like a tree planted by water that does not fear the heat, does not worry in a year of drought, and never ceases from yielding fruit. And as we learned from the Brisker Rav, that very monthly uncertainty is precisely the test and the constant bond with the Master of the Universe, something not to be surrendered for all the wealth in the world.